“Your Talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. ” – Leo Buscaglia
For the past several days, the parable of the talents has kept popping up for me. I have never really liked this parable… it haunts me… It makes me feel really uncomfortable…
For those of you who don’t know about it, it is the story of a wealthy man who goes away on a long trip, and before he leaves, he gives his servants talents (a talent is the equivalent of a year’s wages). One servant gets five, the second servant gets two and the third, one.
The first two servants immediately go and put their talents to use, each yields a doubling of their talents. The last servant, buries his talent. When the master comes back, each servant comes up and shows him what they have earned. The master praises the first two servants.
The last servant, comes up with his one talent and tells the master that he knew he was a hard man who harvests where he doesn’t plant (or something like that) and he was afraid so he hid the talent. The master was enraged, took his talent, threw out the servant and gave his talent to the servant with the most talent.
I really don’t like this parable. It is a great parable. I just don’t like it for selfish reasons. I am very eclectic and have always felt embarassed about it. People often speak derisively about “Jack of all trades, Master of none…” and this has always stuck with me. I have always wanted to master just one thing.
Because I am so eclectic, with so many interests, I have found myself hiding, not sharing my talents because I was afraid people would say “Oh, there she goes again… what is she doing now?” “Can’t you just focus on one thing?”
As I shared last week, I began writing as a teenager because I felt compelled to. I wrote poems, songs, essays… but only because I felt I had to … and I filled books but only for my consumption.
Lately, on my quest for full life integration, I have begun looking at every aspect of my life and the talents I have been given. I realize that my fear of being judged has been keeping me from sharing my talents and inspiring others to share theirs. But since I began this blog, I have been committed to staying in light and letting go of that tendency to hide in the dark. For example, even though I knew nothing about haikus, I began sharing one daily to keep perfectionism at bay and to keep me from taking myself too seriously. Indeed, this blog has been great for keeping me honest and consistent when life get difficult.
Even though I am a morning person, I often write at night after my kids go to bed. It is important for me to show up and share my heart, even though it frightens me.
I realize I am not one of those people who have that one thing they are great at. I have decided that will no longer judge myself for that. Instead, I choose to show up, express myself while pursuing mastery and excellence at the things I love to do, finding ways to combine and integrate them in a way that works for me.
After resigning residency on January 1, 2009, I hid in shame, unsure of how I was going to move forward. But now, I realize I am exactly where I am supposed to be. A physician coach, facilitator, advocate who uses her medical and public health background to help prevent physician burnout, and help wholehearted burning-out physicians thrive… I get to use my music, poetry, writing, international background, to inspire others to live their ideals, thrive in their calling and positively impact the world.
Here’s the thing… don’t expect any abundance if you are not willing to give of what you have… When you share what is uniquely yours, that energy creates a flow… You attract even more abundance… just like the parable!
When you hide your gift, not only do you rob the world, you rob yourself. And your gift doesn’t grow in the dark, it dies…
Step out into the light. Share your gift… no matter how small, no matter how imperfectly. And you may be surprised by your impact on the world around you.
Yes, God has given me all these talents for a reason. I don’t want to be like the servant who hides his talent in the ground because of fear. I want to take my talents and share them, however imperfectly, with the world. and inspire others to share theirs.
This is my gift right back to God!
To learn a little more about what I am up to and support my Thriving physician project, click here www.gofundme.com/thrivingphysician
So, my dear friend, what are you doing with your talents?
Cultivating Abundance:
1. What talent are you hiding or keeping buried?
2. What is keeping you from sharing it with the world?
3. Whose talent has been impactful to you?
4. What would your life have been like if that person had chosen to bury their talents?
5. What step can you take towards sharing your talent today?
6. Whom can you enlist to hold you accountable for showing up and sharing your gifts?
7. In what ways have you experienced abundance in your life?
Your talents are uniquely yours… imprinted by your own DNA… When you share your gift, you inspire others to share theirs. Choose to show up and allow your heart to be seen. Be courageous. Share it! See you next time!
Yvonne Whitelaw writes for Yvonnewhitelaw.com where she blogs about her quest to grow into her ideals in her “Live Your Ideals Project”. By sharing her Daily Haikus and bi-weekly lessons along the way (most Mondays and Thursdays), she hopes to serve and inspire a tribe of wholehearted humanitarians, visionaries and idealists like you, to “live your ideals, live your calling and change the world.”